


Double Trouble

by missrhondalee



Category: Laverne & Shirley (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26633989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missrhondalee/pseuds/missrhondalee
Summary: Ten months after finally deciding to do something constructive with their lives, Carmine and Laverne await the birth of their child but they get more than they bargained for after receiving unexpected news about her pregnancy.
Relationships: Laverne DeFazio/Carmine Ragusa
Kudos: 3





	Double Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a sequel to [Just Another Saturday Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26290693)

The clock on the bedside table indicated 4:07 when Laverne DeFazio was jolted awake by a sharp pain in her lower back. She was in her third trimester and although she was very excited to meet her baby, she was beyond terrified to give birth. She'd read all the books she could get her hands on about childbirth but no matter how much she'd read, nothing eased her anxiety. Her fear combined with how her life was about to turn upside down in a few weeks time was a terrible combination when you were in her condition.

It all began that one Saturday night around ten months ago when she and Carmine agreed it was about time they did something constructive with their lives. Now to say their first night together had been somewhat...awkward would be an understatement. Okay, it was no secret they'd always been attracted to each other but they'd also been friends for so long. By the third time however, they'd gotten comfortable around each other and it was like riding a bike. Three times was actually all it took for Laverne to get pregnant. She suspected she was expecting when she went to work one morning feeling unwell..and ended up throwing up all over her boss' shoes. Clearly, not one of her proudest moments. If Carmine burst out laughing when she told him, her boss sure as hell didn't. The guy had never liked her to begin with but now she was pretty sure he mentally gave her the finger every time he saw her. He didn't fire her but he did send her home that day. The blood test she took the following afternoon confirmed her suspicions. If she and Carmine were ecstatic to say the least, Frank however reacted the way they'd expected him to.

Although the news of a grandchild was wonderful, the fact that Carmine was the father had been a tough pill to swallow in the beginning. Sure, he was Italian so Frank liked that but he wasn't a fan of the fact he'd dated Shirley for all these years. However, Frank and Carmine had somehow developed this son/father relationship since they'd moved to California. They'd gone to games together and he'd been looking out for him like he would his own son like that time he thought he was charmed because he'd been struck by lightning and Frank saved him from a probable death. Plus Frank realized Laverne could have done a lot worse. He'd never liked all these married guys she used to go out with and although he hadn't said it out loud, he was relieved his daughter was finally getting her life on track. He'd been worried about her ever since Shirley split with just a note no less, and seeing her happy again was like a breath of fresh air. Although he knew he could trust Carmine, he still took him aside one morning and threatened to break his legs and a lot more if he ever hurt Laverne or her child. Like walking out on her or something.

Laverne's fear of Carmine walking out on her was the reason he moved in with her during the third month of the pregnancy. At first, they'd agreed to only move in together once the baby would be here and take it from there. Although they'd decided to go through with this, moving in together overnight was a big step when they hadn't even gone on a proper date once. They'd decided that while she would be pregnant, they'd go on dates so they could adjust to being a couple and then move in together. But Laverne's anxiety had been so horrible she ended up having panic attacks that Carmine would leave her, that he'd chicken out. They'd start fighting whenever he tried to reassure her that he wasn't going anywhere. Shirley leaving the way she had was most likely the reason Laverne felt this way, Carmine knew. Their fights always ended with him saying the wrong thing and Laverne storming out of his apartment sobbing. Carmine knew their fighting wasn't good for the child so he figured the only way she'd finally believe him would be if he moved in and that was exactly what he did. Plus now that he didn't have his own place, he'd been able to save up to buy all the baby furniture. The kid wasn't born yet and he already cost a fortune. Between the crib, the high chair, all the clothes and the stroller...Needless to say, the money disappeared as quickly as it had appeared into his account.

They'd managed to stay financially afloat because Frank and their friends would help them once in a while. Her grandmother had even knitted her future great grandchild a blanket. Okay, when she learned the father of Laverne's baby was the same guy who ruined her trip to Italy years ago...Grandma DeFazio went crazy. So much so that when she saw him she nearly attacked him physically. If Frank hadn't intervened, the woman would have beat him with her rolling pin! Thankfully, after Carmine apologized profusely, the old lady forgave him and when she realized that not only Carmine made her granddaughter happy, but he was Italian too, it was the cherry on top! Ever since they moved in together, he and Laverne barely ever fought and he'd rush to her side every time she needed something. Well, at least in the beginning. As the due date was approaching however, her mood swings were out of control and she'd constantly snap at him snarky remarks. He knew she didn't mean all these things, that it was just her hormones, but sometimes they got to him and he'd snap back which ended up with her crying and yelling at him that he was mean to her! Carmine banged his head against the walls countless times in the last two weeks so much so that he had a tiny bruise on his forehead to prove it. If her mood swings weren't enough, she'd also have cravings that forced Carmine to go to the store at ridiculous hours of the night and when he wouldn't do it, she'd literally kick him out of bed. Like she did last night. Laverne groaned as the pain in her lower back intensified and she shook Carmine awake. "Carmine!"

Carmine mumbled, "The store's closed. Go back to sleep."

"Wake up!" she panted loudly as she now felt a liquid gushing between her legs. "Oh, my god."

"What the hell...?"

The sudden dampness of the sheets brought him fully awake. "Why is this all wet..."

"I think my water just broke."

"What do you mean your water broke!" he'd read the same books she had but since the baby wasn't due for another few weeks, Carmine had trouble thinking clearly.

"The baby's coming."

They started freaking out at the same time. Sure, they'd been prepared for it but not three weeks early and certainly not in the middle of the night. Carmine ran frantically around the room trying to locate a pair of pants and ended up tripping over his own feet when he was putting them on. He got back on his feet quickly, "Where did I put the car keys?"

"The car's in the shop."

Carmine smacked himself on the forehead. "Fuck!" he cursed, asking her how they were going to get to the hospital now. "I thought you weren't due for another three weeks-"

"Well, I'm sorry! What do you want me to do? Stall the baby until the car's ready?!" Laverne snapped sarcastically as a contraction overtook her. She'd been dreading this moment for months and she'd been right because she'd never been in so much physical pain in her life.

Carmine put a shirt on and helped her getting out of bed. "Can you walk?"

Laverne miraculously managed to make it down the stairs with his help after putting shoes and a light jacket on. "What are we going to do? We have no car. Maybe the bus.."

"Are you crazy? I ain't getting on no bus."

"But Laverne-"

She pulled on his ear and he yelped in pain. "I'm not about to get on a fucking bus in the middle of the night in my condition." she panted loudly, "Go get Squig."

"The ice cream truck! Of course!"

"I'll be back in two minutes. Are you gonna be okay?"

Carmine flew out of the room when she nodded she would be.

While he was gone, Laverne managed to call her Pop and asked him to meet them at the hospital. The guy was so happy he was singing into the telephone. “A grandchild at last!” If Frank was over the moon, Squiggy was cranky that Carmine woke him in the middle of a dream. He was making out with Jayne Mansfield right about to go to third base when Carmine burst through his door! Something that Carmine should have thought through because he caught Squiggy...hugging his pillow while moaning the actress' name loudly. He was definitely scarred for life now. Never, _ever_ enter Squiggy's place without knocking first. Apparently, the time he stumbled upon his friend covered in honey from head to toe naked as a jaybird hadn't traumatized him enough. While Squiggy reluctantly got dressed and made his way to his truck to drive them to the hospital, Carmine returned to the apartment. They were on their way out when Laverne remembered they forgot to take her suitcase and the baby bag - both have religiously been packed weeks ago and right now they were grateful for it. Laverne gasped loudly as Carmine tripped down the stairs, sending the baby bag flying across the room.

"Oh, my goodness. Are you okay?" she asked as she watched him getting up. Although she was scared, which was beyond understandable, she appeared to be a lot calmer than him. Well, until the next contraction. Carmine panted as he tried to get a grip on himself. Another contraction hit her just as they were getting into the ice cream truck. He helped her get into a comfortable position as she grabbed his shirt. Her hormones mixed with the intense physical pain she was going through clouded her judgment. "You did this to me, Ragusa."

"We did this together."

"Yeah, why aren't you having contractions too then?!"

Laverne panted loudly as Squiggy turned the engine on. He glanced behind his shoulder at them. "Try not to get blood all over my truck, will you? I just had it clean-"

"Shut up, Squig. Just drive."

"Hey. You could be polite. I'm doing you guys a favor here-"

Laverne breathed through her nose, "Will you _please_ shut up. Is that polite enough for you?!"

"Yes, that's better. Thank you."

"I can't do this." Laverne cried now as Carmine tried to help her breathe.

He held her shaking hands, "Yes, you can."

Laverne shook her head frantically, "No."

The truck swerved suddenly and Laverne panicked. "Try not to get us killed there, Squig." Carmine told him now as Squiggy pushed down the breaks. "There was a chipmunk on the road or something." since it was the middle of the night he couldn't see properly plus with Laverne making all this noise it was harder to concentrate.

Squiggy glanced to the side mirror. "Oh, it just flew away so that couldn't be it." then he got confused. "Wait, chipmunks can't fly. Can they?"

He heard Laverne crying, "Aww. Don't cry, I didn't squash him or anything. Just gave him a little scare."

As her emotions overtook her, Laverne realized the bus might have been a much better option than Squiggy driving them but it was too late now. If earlier Carmine was the one freaking out while she'd remained somehow calm, now it was the other way around. Plus Squiggy's driving just aggravated everything.

Laverne breathed rapidly as panic spread through her and tears now blurred her vision.

After all her entire life was about to change completely. "We're not ready."

"Yeah, we are."

"What if we can't do this?"

"We can do it."

"What if the baby doesn't like me?"

"Nonsense. Everything's going to be all right. We've made it this far, haven't we?''

She smiled through her tears, "Carmine, we're gonna have a baby."

He wiped her tears smiling back. "We're gonna have a baby."

They got to the hospital in under ten minutes. If Squiggy had driven like this in broad daylight, they'd have gotten into an accident for sure because he did miss a few red lights and stop signs. Carmine actually feared for their lives when he did swerve earlier to avoid whatever animal he stumbled upon. Squiggy got out of the truck quickly and watched as Carmine helped Laverne. She groaned as she slowly stepped out of the vehicle.

"Squig, go get someone, will you?"

Squiggy nodded but then stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Hey. Since I drove and everything. Can I ask you guys a favor?"

"Later. We don't have time. Go get someone."

"Come on."

Laverne groaned in exasperation, "Ugh. Fine. What?"

"If the baby is a boy..."

"Yeah?"

"Could you perhaps, find it in your heart to name him after me so people might think you secretly have the hots for me?"

Laverne lost it and went right for his neck. "Get him out of my sight!' she shouted, 'I'm going to kill him!"

Carmine separated them quickly. "Geez, woman! Are you insane?!" Squiggy snapped panting. damn those pregnant hormones really made her testy....

Laverne breathed through her nose as she glared at him intensely.

"Go. Get. Someone. Now!"

Laverne dug her nails into Carmine's skin as a nurse and a doctor approached with a wheelchair after Squiggy reluctantly asked for help. Carmine yelped in pain as she slowly sat down. While he rubbed his arm, Laverne grabbed the doctor by his white coat. 'Drugs! Give me drugs!' she cried, begging for the pain to stop. They heard familiar voices calling out their names just as they were making their way to the receptionist's desk. While Carmine was sorting things out trying to get her admitted, Laverne and Squiggy spotted Frank and Rhonda making their way toward them. They arrived at the hospital at the same time. Frank called Rhonda the minute his daughter hung up the phone.

"Oh Pop, I'm so glad to see you." even more after almost dying in Squiggy's truck....

"Muffin!" Frank ran to hug her. "You okay?"

"I'm having a baby."

"I know." Frank cried, "A grandchild. This is the happiest day of my life." even more when he'd started losing all hope when Shirley got married and got a kid of her own.

Frank crying made Squiggy uncomfortable. "Mr. DeFazio. Please, get a hold of yourself. This is a public place. No one wants to see that. I don't."

Only the father was allowed to stay in the room with her during labor. She'd however be alone for the birth and Laverne cried when they told her that. Not only was she terrified but she was going to be all alone to face it? "We'll be waiting for you. We're not going anywhere." Frank reassured his daughter as Carmine wheeled her away from them.

"I promise I'll stay behind that door for as long as the delivery takes." Carmine reassured her now as she lay on her side, the only position that relieved the pain a little. Although it was a lot more bearable with the drugs. She'd been so grateful she literally hugged the nurse blessing her for giving them to her. The same nurse also told her she was only three centimeters dilated so she was going to be here a while.

As the hours passed and as Laverne's contractions intensified and her fingernails dug further into Carmine's skin, so much so that he was nearly drawing blood, the same doctor who welcomed them earlier came into the room to check up on her. It was common procedure but Carmine telling them she was three weeks early was a cause for concern.

"How are you doing?"

"What do you think?" Laverne felt like she was going to burst at any moment.

"What happened to your arm there?" the doctor, whose name was Paul made a face at the sight of Carmine's scratched up arm. Carmine chuckled ducking the question. If Laverne detected one ounce of whining in his voice about this, he knew she was going to kill him.

"I'm just here to check up on you, to make sure that everything's going smoothly." he told them now and then asked when their last check up was. Guilt overtook them when they admitted to only having one at the beginning of the pregnancy. Those were really expensive for people like them and Laverne figured as long as she wasn't in pain or bleeding they could do without. Aside from gaining quite a bit of weight, everything had gone smoothly for the most part.

"I'm just going to check the baby's heartbeat, is that all right?"

Laverne said nothing as he placed the stethoscope on her belly. "How many are you expecting?"

Carmine and Laverne looked at each other confused. "Well, just the one..."

"Hm." Dr. Paul exclaimed now as he moved the stethoscope around and it worried them.

"What 'hm', what does that mean?"

"Well, it appears there are two heartbeats."

Laverne shrugged, "Well, yeah. Mine and the baby's."

"No. Two distinct heartbeats. You're having twins."

Carmine blinked, "Come again?"

"There's two babies in there." now that would explain why she was three weeks early since twins were rarely carried to term.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm fairly certain." he heard the two heartbeats on different locations.

Laverne freaked out, like she wasn't panicking enough with just one. She grabbed Carmine by his collar and shook him repeatedly.

"What do you mean there's a second baby?!"

"Think of it this way." Dr. Paul said now winking, "Twice as much fun."

As the doctor left, Carmine and Laverne tried to get their minds wrapped around the idea they were going to have two children and not one. Although they were terrified, in a way they were grateful they didn't find out earlier. The intense anxiety might have done terrible damage if they had. They wanted the twins to be a surprise to her pop so she begged him not to say anything. She wanted to see the look on Frank's face when she would tell him.

It was around five o'clock in the afternoon when Laverne was finally ready to deliver her babies. They got admitted around five o'clock this morning so twelve hours ago. Laverne cried as they took her into the delivery room. Carmine couldn't be with her and she was beyond terrified. 'I'm right behind the door.' he held her hand, 'You'll do great.'

"Two babies."

"I know."

Carmine let go of her hand as she disappeared into the room.

If the labor had lasted all day, the delivery however had been fairly quick. Laverne held her babies only an hour after being admitted into the delivery room. She had a girl and a boy. Josephine, named after her late mother, was the eldest by one minute and twelve seconds. Little Anthony was a bit smaller than his sister but both babies were healthy. Carmine rushed to them the second the hospital staff let him and Frank was able to be reunited with his daughter once Laverne returned to her hospital room.

"So, where's the kid, Laverne?" Squiggy asked as he made his way further into the room.

He'd been waiting forever in the waiting area and he was cranky as hell. He even tried taking a nap on one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs but Frank woke him when he apparently started moaning Lenny's name. He and Rhonda then glanced his way every two minutes and ended up bursting out laughing when he assured them he and Lenny were just good friends.

"I didn't wait all this time just to see you."

Laverne almost smiled, "They're in the nursery, Squig."

"They're?" Frank frowned, "As in plural?"

"I had twins, pop."

Frank threw his arms up in the air and they chuckled watching him, "Two grandchildren! Thank you, muffin." he hugged his daughter again.

"I like to think I helped." Carmine said now.

Frank shook his hand and patted him on the back.

"Congratulations, Laverne." Rhonda held her hand then congratulated Carmine too.

"Hey, Laverne." Squiggy interrupted them now he hated all this mushy stuff, "Next time you have babies, could you let me know how long you're planning on being in labor for, because the parking in this place is costing me a fortune-" Rhonda smacked the back of Squiggy's head as Frank clenched his fists.

Fearing for his life with Mr DeFazio glaring at him, Squiggy patted Laverne's shoulder awkwardly. "I meant...congrats on your new family and all."

"Thank you."

"Can we see them? I want to meet my grandchildren."

"I'll take you." Carmine offered.

They now stood in front of the glass window of the nursery. While Carmine pointed proudly at his children, Rhonda was making all kind of girly sounds. Frank couldn't stop smiling and Squiggy...just rolled his eyes. What was the big deal with babies anyway? All they did was eat and crap. He did those things too and no one ever congratulated him!

"Josephine's on the left and Anthony's on the right."

Frank couldn't help but shed a tear at his granddaughter's name. The same as his late wife's.

"Boy, I wish she were here right now. She would be so proud."

"Aww." Rhonda exclaimed now, "They're adorable, Carmine." she then winked at him, "Who knew you had it in ya?"

"Which one is your kid, Carmine?" Squiggy asked now, "The boy or the girl?"

"Both of them, you moron! They're twins."

"I know that." Squiggy replied defensively, "But maybe Laverne slept with another gu-"

Frank smacked him on the back of his head before he had time to finish that sentence.

There was a pause as they kept watching them.

"Are y'all going to get married now?"

"Seems we're heading that way, Squig."

A nurse entered the nursery suddenly. Some of the babies had IV's and were given proteins and vitamins and such. They watched as the nurse picked up a needle already filled with liquid and injected it into one of the IV's.

"Hey. Is that a needle?" Squiggy asked now, feeling suddenly a bit queasy.

"Yeah."

Frank, Rhonda and Carmine gasped as Squiggy dropped to the floor with a loud thud next to them.


End file.
